BETWEEN TWO FIRES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXVII, Issue 11520, 3 November 1900, Page 3 (Supplement)

BETWEEN TWO FIRES.

[PUBLISHED BY SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT.]

A STORY OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN : WAR. BY HARRY GOLDING. CHAPTER XX. the saviour OF HIS COUNTS.?. The country between Johannesburg and the Natal border is not without scenic attractions for those with an eye and a mind to enjoy them. It is to be feared, however, that Muriel profited little by her opportunities, having somthing also tc think about Tate was surely playing strange pranks with her. Yesterday a dirty native carriage, crowded to suffocation; to-day the solitary state, the gilded bondage of an empress On the whole she thought her last state rather worse than her first. They stopped at Heidelberg, where more Boers got in, and they ran without a break to Standerton. Here Van Lennep came to the door, and asked if she wanted anything It was long past midday, and she was in. reality very hungry; but, woman-like, she thought to punish him by being cruel to 3 and rejected his well-meant attenS with a hue scorn that would have been the undoing of most men, but was quite thrown away upon him. All she would deign to accept at his hands was a glass of milk, which, truth to tell, he had no slight difficulty in procuring. They waited for a long time on a siding. The reason for the delay was apparent, when a "special" from Pretoria with two carriages only attached., came dashing in. About a dozen men alighted, and the Boers lounging about on the platform commenced to cheer. Muriel let down the window and looked out, hoping to escape notice in the General commotion. The new arrivals walked slowly along the tram, the cheering breaking out with renewed vigour as they nassed the successive carnages, it was Evident that the recipient of these honours was a person of no small consequence and popularity. He walked slightly m advance of his party, smiling good-humouredly, and pausing now and again to shake hands with the more enthusiastic of his supporters. He was a man of more than average height, inclined to corpulency, and vuth a long, straggling beard, almost entirely grey. He wore a faded white hat of the " high bowler variety, with a thick, black band around it a shiny frock coat, baggy trousers, and heavy, square-toed boots. Anyone less like the commander-in-chief of a powerful army Muriel could not have imagined; but she knew at once, from the pictures she had seen at Capetown, that this could be no other than General Joubert. His staff was attired in similar fashion, and would have been taken at any other time for a party of none-too-properous farmers on the way to market. , . •Before General Joubert reached the carriage in which Muriel was seated, somethin" prompted her to pull down the blinds. A moment later the door was flung open, and,, to her dismay, Joubert himself stepped He started back with an exclamation of surprise. ~,,.• , "Who is this?" he asked, looking her through with keen but not unkindly eyes. " Oh, pardon, sir!" came a voice from the crowd around the door. "I had forgotten. Here, come out, young woman! This is no place for you !" Muriel rose, gladly enough. " Stay ! stay!" said the general. Tell me who this young lady is, and how she came to be here." " She's an English girl, your honour. She was put in here at the last moment, and I quite forgot to send for her. But here's someone who will tell you all about her." The crowd parted, and Van Lennep was pushed to the front. He bowed deferentially to the general, and commenced to speak in 'Dutch. . " Hold on," said Joubert, still in English. "Who are you?" Van Lennep attempted some explanation, but Joubert shook his head. " No, no," he said. " Does anyone/ here' know this man?" Several voices responded, "Yes." One man got on to the footboard, and whispered in "the general's ear. It was evident, however, that he was still dissatisfied. He stepped down to the platform again. " Come here," he said to Van Lennep, and drew him aside. Their conversation lasted several minutes. Then Joubert came back and asked, " But where do you propose to put this lady?" "Oh, we'll make room for her," said one. " The young fellows in my troop won't say no to a pretty girl's company, even, if she is English." " Gideon," said Joubert, sharply, "I'm surprised at you. How can we hope to be successful if we go into battle with levity on our lips and wickedness in our hearts?" " Your pardon, general. I meant nothing. But the journey is long and tiring, and perhaps the young woman herself would like a change." Muriel, timid as she was in many respects, had the rare faculty of always rising to a great occasion. She looked Joubert full in the face, and exerting all her will power, said simply: " I don't want to go with these men." " Then you shan't," said the gallant Joubert, who, spite of his rebukes of other people, was by no means proof himself against the fascinations of a pretty face and figure. " But, general," said one of his staff, "remember our council. This is our only chance before the bother of camp duty commences."

Joubert glanced sharply at Muriel again. " She looks straightforward enough," he said. "Is she to be trusted?" " Yes," cried Van Lennep eagerly, over tho heads of the group. " You could trust her with anything. She's nothing mors than a simple schoolgirl, and hardly knows a mule from an ox." Muriel felt grateful for the testimonial, such as it was, but could not help wonder-, ing since when Van Lennep had come to this conclusion. Joubert turned to her sternly, and spoke two or three sentences in Dutch. She looked at him blankly, and shook her head. He affected to be very angry, stamped his foot, and, as she thought, ordered her to leave the carriage. She got up, but he laughed and said:' " Pardon me; you misunderstand. I asked you to keep your seat. We will inconvenience you as little'as possible." " Corae along," he said to his followers. " Take your places. We have lost valuable time already." As many as possible entered the carriage, and soon the train was speeding over the parched veldt, towards the blue hills on the border of Natal. Muriel, from her seat in the corner, took furtive stock of her companions as they smoked and talked. It was evident that several of them strongly disapproved of her presence ; but after the general's words they had no alternative but to hold their peace. Some large maps were produced, and with these spread on their knees the Boer leaders discussed their plan of campaign in utter disregard of the English girl in their midst. Only now and again did one forget himself and use an English expression; but Muriel was not a whit wiser. On the whole, she congratulated herself that she did not know Dutch. She might, perhaps, have overheard something of value to her own side; but how could she, in the face of Joubert's kindness and confidence, have betrayed him? - An hour or two later they reached the Boer camp at Sandspruit. Joubert and his staff got out; but ere he went off, he called her to the window, and, extending his hand, said, "Good-bye! It's no fault of yours that your countrymen seek to rob us of our independence. I wish you a safe and pleasant termination to your journey." At that moment Van Lennep 1 came up, and Joubert's tone changed instantly to an icy coldness. . -.; s 'j. " The twentieth," he said with a, meaning look, and turned away,,

: "Come on, my girl," said Van Lennep. :"The invasion of Natal, has, it seems, already commenced. A train is going forward; as far as Newcastle, and the general is so ; pleased with you that he has given us per- f mission to travel by it. This way > There was a nasty leer on his < face thai Muriel did not like. He was evidently better * pleased with her than in the morning; but she had began to wonder whether she did not hate him even more in his good moods than in his bad. , . i tf;

She had been thinking again, too, about the watch chain Of course she had seen it before. And, *»T course, she had seen. Van ",Lennep before! Nice, work this that necessitated a man's hiding his face from his own sister-in-law 1 What had ho to do with Kruger, or Kruger with him' And what did General Joubert mean by his significant reference to the twentieth? They reached Newcastle late in the eve ing. 'Nearly all the English inhabitant*} had fled, leaving their homes and ( property to the tender mercies of the Boers. Van Lennep made at once for the old posti-ig-house, where he was apparently well known. By the time they had snatched a hasty* meal, a light Capo cart was waiting for them at the door. " It's rather late for a twenty-mile drive," said Van Lennep ; " but we can't well stay ' here. Usually Igo to Glencoe; but there will be no more trains that way for a few days, I fancy. It's a lovely evening; ami if you wrap h- warmly I don't think you'll' take much harm." Ho did his best to make her comfortable, and they set off on the final stage of that adventurous journey. Muriel had become so accustomed to mishaps and hindrances that ■ she could scarcely believe it possible that she was actually at last to see Evelyn and little Cyril. V.'hey were stopped twice by Boer sentries in the outskirts of the town, but had no difficulty in getting thiough. " I am glad you spoke up so warmly for me to General Joubert," Muriel hazarded, as they drove along in the clear moonlight. Van Lennep laughed. " Yes," he said, " I did you a good fcura , there. But I thought you might be able to learn something useful in return. You we,' you and I, as British subjects, are bound in times like these to report anything we may hear. I daresay you have thought my. conduct once or twice rather strange; but, of course, a girl of your intelligence must have understood that I was merely acting a part. Now that we are away from the Boers, I can come out in my true colours again. What a relief it is to feel an honest man!" "I suppose it is," said Muriel dryly. Day had dawned when they reached the brow of a low hill overlooking a far-reaching valley, from which the mist was slowly rising. From a farmhouse not a hundred yards away smoke, too, curled heavenward. " Here we are," said Van Lennep, not. ding. ■*' Evelyn is an early riser, as you see." CHAPTER XXI. VAN LENNEP'S FARM. The gate was unfastened by a Kaffir. He grinned from ear to ear on recognising Van Lennep, but there was no joy in his eyes. As they neared the house the door was opened, and a figure in a loose dressing". gown appeared. "Evelyn!" cried Muriel, and was down almost before the horses were at a standstill. "My dear girl! How you have grown! I. should not have known you.'' " Nor I you," said Muriel. " You are quite matronly. Oh, I'm sorry. How very selfish of me!" She stood aside, vexed at having thoughtlessly interposed between a long-separated husband and wife. There was a wistful look in Evelyn's eyes. She half raised h-jr face to Van Lennep, but the movement was lost upon him. Ho neither kissed her nor took her by the hand. " Everything all right?" he asked, as one would speak to a house (Bog. " Yes, Jan." "Breakfast ready?" " It will be in a few minutes." " Hurry them up then, will you. We had to drive all the way from Newcastle. Ie Seth at the back?" "I think so." He passed on, full of his own concerns, without a word of affection or approval for the woman wh ohad toiled day and night, as he very well knew, that those concerns should not suffer in his absence. Tears stood in Evelyn's eyes, but she tried to hido them. " What a beast he is!" thought Muriel. " Jan is very strange sometimes," said Evelyn, reading her thoughts; " but he is very good to me. Ho has a lot to think about. I do think he might have asked after the child, though !" " Mummy !"■ came a voice from the top ol the stairs, and the patter of tiny feet was heard. Looking up, Muriel saw a chubby face, framed with a profusion of golden curls, peeping through the balusters. "Come down, dear!" cried Evelyn.. "Here's Auntie Muriel at last." The small man obeyed, very deliberately, pausing on each stair, to make a fresh survey of the new-comer, whose advent had been so eagerly expected and so long delayed. He was a child of astonishing beauty, a three-year-old counterpart of Millais* " Bubbles," but with more of sensitiveness in his face. Muriel went up two or three stairs to meet him; and he suffered himself to be kissed and fondled •w.ih a quaint air of resignation, as if a wide experience had taught him that aunts were bound to behave in this way, and that every allowance must be made for them. Van Lennep returned to the room. At once the child shook himself free, and, running to his mother, buried his face in her skirts. '" Alloa, my boy," said Van Lennep, laying his hand lightly on the golden hair; " taking care of mummy, eh?" The boy shrank from his touch, but shortly looked up at him with wide-open eyes, from which all the lustre had gone. His face paled, and there was an ominous twitching of the sensitive lips. He resembled a delicate exotic suddenly taken from the hothouse, and had shrivelled in the cold air of his father's presence. After breakfasC Muriel went upstairs to snatch a few hours' rest. Cyril insisted upon going with her, and not only so, but he would have it that he should be undressed and properly put to bed, although he had only been up an hour or two. Ho even carried make-believe so far that he went off to sleep in the arms of his newlyfound friend.

At mid-day the clattering of horses' hoofs awoke them both. . Muriel sat up with a start. "■ \ ' • "Don't be fwightened, amy," said the child; " it's only the off-sers." ,- "Offsers," said Muriel, puzzled. "What / are off-sers?" ■'■ - ', ; . '* "Why, English offsers, course. They ; come here to play with me and eat dinner!" . It was clear to Muriel that the military charged with the defence of Natal had a lofty conception of their duties., She drew aside the curtain and looked out. It was pleasant to see the dear old khaki uniforms again. ,_ \ There were five offijers, one evidently of high rank, and about a dozen troopers. "Good-morning, Mrs. VanLennep!" cried the youngest of the group, a lieutenant upon whose lip was no down. " Didn't expect to see us here to-day, did you? And didn't particularly want to, eh! It's too bad, * really, but we're so hungry.". , *,' And thirsty, too, Mrs. "Van Lennep," sang out another. " Nothing like these hills of yours for giving one an appetite, and a heat like this for thirst. For mercy's sake,/ treat us kindly!" " Come along in," said Evelyn, who was evidently on the best of terms with them. " You'll have to take pot luck, and it's little enough you'll get, I fancy." "Mrs Van Lennep has taken pity on us on several occasions, sir," said the lieuten- > ant, turning to the senior officer, who had been looking on good-humouredly • without speaking. "Mrs. Van Lennep—General Symons." The general bowed and said pleasantly, : " It's the fortune of war, Mrs. Van Lennep: We've had a busy morning reconnoitring, and it's a long way to camp. At any othei time you may be sure I should have waited for an invitation." „■. ' '• . "Which I am sure would have been given, sir, with the greatest pleasure," said Van * Lennep, who had come up unnoticed. "I ,;; have been from home, but I am glad to . think my wife has been aide to renaer some service, however slight, to the cause we have at heart. We are greatly honoured by your visit, sir.'.' Was this smirking ftdrodaftl the Iwrui&ue, - L '' * ~Van.Lenn#p? « -.\- ;: - .■-■■' - : '.£oi

General Symons muttered an acknowledgment, and they entered the house together, the troopers meanwhile leading the norses round to the stables. '.- . - . " "Stay," shouted Lieutenant King to his orderly. "One moment, please. Where's little Cyril, Mrs. Van Lennep? I promised to give him a ride on my gee-gee, you know. He's the sweetest and prettiest little chap on earth, sir," he added, turning to the general, while Evelyn blushed with gratified pride. . *vi Cyril would have been down long ere this, had not Muriel, nervous at the prospect of meeting so many strangers, held him back. "I'm tummin! I'm tummin!" he now shouted, almost tumbling down the stairs in his eagerness. , Lieutenant King still stood in the porch; the others had entered the drawmgrooin He turned to greet Cyril, and was rewarded for his good nature by a pleased smile from the loveliest being he had ever seen. His eves met Muriel's, and his doom was sealed. To tell the truth, it had been sealed on many previous occasions, but never quite so hermetically as on this. " Surely, he thought, '• there cannot be another woman in the wide world to match this slim, white-robed, blueeved. merrv-looking creature!" ""Why, Cyril," he said, "I had no idea you had other friends to-day. I suppose you won't want a ride on my gee-gee now?' " 'Es I do," said the boy. " I'se going to show arny how to wide." The lieutenant took him up in his arms, and the horse pawed the ground as if proud of hi-; prospective burden. At the last moment, however, the boy's courage failed him, and he cried to be put down. " Let aunty hold you," said Muriel, and his confidence was at once restored. ' So it came to pass that the impressionable lieutenant held the boy on one side, while Muriel held him on the other, their hands of necassity meeting at his back. The trooper followed directly in the rear, presumably to pick up the broken hearts. Altogether, they made a pretty picture, especially as viewed from the dining-room windows. "By Gad!" said Captain Bruce, with his monocle to his eye. " King has all the luck again. What a beautiful girl! Who is she, Mrs Van Lennep?" " My sister," said Evelyn, with a smile. "'Just' out from England.' "Present us, present us!" cried one and all, unrestrained by the presence of the general. * It came about, therefore, that three lanky cavalry officers strode down the path to Muriel. The introduction was, to say the least, informal. " Let go there, King," said Captain Bruce. "It's my turn to give the little chappie a ride, isn't it, old man?" " I want you to give me a wide on your back." said the child, in the seventh heaven of delight. "And so I will," said Bruce, throwing dignity and his monocle to the winds. It was only after he had capered about for several minutes, to the intense amusement of the troopers and his brother officers, that it occurred to the gallant captain that he had, after all. been left out in the cold, there being nowhere for Miss Hughes to come in. King, in fact, had simply taken advantage of the diversion to favour her with still more of his inane conversation. By this time lunch was ready. In all Natal there was not a merrier party. The general was affability itself, and Van Lennep as a host astonished not only his wife and guests, but himself. Long before the meal was over, Muriel and Evelyn were under pledge to drive over to the camp at Glencoe on the afternoon of the Thursday following, to witness the great polo match of Hussars versus Lancers. Van Leinep readily assented to the arrangement, and even promised, if he were not too busy, to drive them.himself. "' Delightful fellows, are tbev not?" asked Evelyn, when they finally clattered awav to sterner duties. "Very." replied Muriel. Poor "Dick! (To be continued.)